CORTLAND, N.Y. -- When the Jets broke for the summer after minicamp last month, head coach Rex Ryan said it was "a possibility" that running back Chris Johnson would be on a "pitch count" once training camp rolled around.

"Pitch count" is Ryan's way of describing a break he sometimes gives to players to get some rest. And on Saturday, the first day of padded practice at Jets camp, Johnson took part in position drills but was held out of the team portion of practice.

Johnson had surgery to repair a torn meniscus back in January, and he had been limited throughout organized team activities and minicamp in the spring. He's fully healed, and he spent Thursday's and Friday's practices showing he still has his famous burst of speed in a variety of ways.

But by resting him—and backup linebacker Garrett McIntyre, who was also limited because of a knee injury sustained at the end of last season—Ryan was erring on the side of caution, just as he had said he would.

"We know at the end of the day, when opening day comes, we want our guys in the very best possible shape and all, that they can be in, and fresh an ready to go. So we're going to make sure we take care of those guys."

Ryan wouldn't definitively commit to having Johnson practice for two days and then take a day off, which was the pattern established through the first three days of practice.

"I don't want to say this is exactly how it is because, quite honestly, I don't have the chart in front of me," Ryan said.